An opportunity to comment on a life very full, with room for improvement, and little time to do it.

Friday, October 17, 2008

In and Out - Same Day

The Brave Astronaut family are off for a quick weekend to visit with friends in Charlottesville. But I wanted to share with you this item I saw in the news recently. From the Rapid City Journal in Rapid City, South Dakota:

An elderly Sioux Falls, S.D. couple died together Saturday, side by side, of separate illnesses, reports the Argus Leader.

Diana Kraft and her husband, Kent, had been married for about 43 years, both born on the same day: Sept. 2, 1941, the report says. Diana Kraft had battled Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and Kent had a brief illness.

According to the Argus Leader, Police spokesman Loren McManus said the deaths of the Krafts were not suspicious or criminal. He said Kent Kraft had a heart condition.

It was a unique situation, reminiscent of the movie “The Notebook,” he said.

“It’s kind of like that. They’ve been together forever and she was very, very sick and she died,” McManus said. “Whatever effect that had on him, that was it.”

This was followed in due course by a list of individuals who checked in and out of this world on the same day, that is they all died on the anniversary of their birth.

George Washington Carver, US agricultural chemist - January 5, 1864-January 05, 1903 (as a former slave, Carver's exact date of birth is not known, but is celebrated on the 5th of January)

Lawrence Oates, Arctic Explorer - March 17, 1880-March 17, 1912 (Oates walked off from the rest of his party to try and get help and froze to death. It is believed he perished on his birthday but could have died before or after that date)